Antifouling sinker



DBC. 30, 1952 V, L BQWMAN 2,623,320

ANTIFOULING SINKER Filed Sept. 18, 19.50

l/l'rg/'l L. Bowman 'ment for the sinker to free Patented Dec. 30, 1952 ANTIFOULIANG SINKER Virgil L. Bowman, Buhl, Idaho Application September 18, 19,510, Serial No. 185,397

6 Claims. (Cl, i3-43.12)

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in sinkers and more particularly to an anti-fouling sinker.

An important object of the invention is to provide a connectorfor an elongated sinker and to between itsends to or tumbling moveitself from fouling which thesinker is pivoted provide an endwise swinging with submerged objects.

Anotherobject is to provide the front end of the connector merged objects.

A further object is to provide a wire frame or harness forming the connector and including side bars having trunnions at their rear ends to which the sinker is pivoted and providing an adjustable line attaching member connected to the bars and holding the trunnions engaged with the sinker.

A still further object is to provide a device of this character of simple and practical construction, which is eicient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and other- Wise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view;

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal sectional View;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view showing the anti-fouling action of the sinker; and

Figuresfi and 5 are transverse sectional views taken on the lines 4-4 and 5 5 of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates the wire connector frame or harness and which is shaped to provide a pair of side bars 6 united at their front ends by upwardly and rearwardly curved loops or skids 'I and which are united with each other by a cross bar 8 at the rear portion of the loops.

The rear ends of side bars 6 are formed with opposed trunnions 9 received in an opening I Il in the opposite sides of an ovate sinker II and nearer one end of the snker to provide a weighted rear end I 2, and between the loops or skids 'I and trunnions 9 the bars 6 are undulated to form notches I5,

A line attaching cross bar I3 is formed at its ends with eyes I4 slidably mounted on the side resilient skids at to ride over subbars Band selectivelyheld in notches I5 in the side bars to adjust the cross bar forwardly or rearwardly thereon. A sleeve I6 is placed on cross `bar I3 with a circumferential groove Il therein to center a line I8 attached thereto on thecross ba-r. The line extends from the sleeve I6 forwardly through a wire guide I 9 attached between the rear portion of loops 'I.

The elongated sinker II is free to swing on the trunnions 9 at the rear ends of side bars 6 to prevent fouling With a submerged object 20 when the sinker is pulled upwardly by the line. The resilient wire loops or skids 'I at the front ends of the connector frame or harness 5 will also more easily ride over the jagged surface of theobject and should the loops or skid become fouled, the resiliency thereof will cause the same tof-Hex when the line is pulled and suddenly released to free itself.

An eye 2| is secured in one end of the sinker forattaching directly to a sh line, when the frame or harness 5 is not used, and an opening 22 is formed in the other end of the sinker for attaching sh hooks (not shown) thereto.

In the operation of the device, the trunnions 9 at the rear ends of side bars 6 are inserted in opening IU to position the sinker between the bars for free rocking or rotary movement. Line attaching cross bar I3 is adjusted either forwardly or rearwardly on bars 6 in the notches Idepending on the pulling force the bars 6 and trunnions 9 are desired to withstand before the arms flex sufficiently to release the trunnions without breaking the line, should the sinker become hopelessly fouled.

Should the sinker encounter a submerged object, skids or loops I will tend to ridezover the object and the lighter front end of the sinker, upon striking the object, will tumble' or turn over about the axis of the trunnions 9 to prevent fouling of the sinker.

vHaving described the claimed as new is:

1.` A fishing sinker comprising a line connector including a line attaching cross-bar, a line guide carried by the connector forwardly of the crossbar.' and an elongated solid body pivotally mountedto the rear end of the connector for endwise swinging movement of the body.

2.` A fishing sinker comprising a line connector including a pair of spaced apart parallel rods, a pair of opposed trunnions at the rear ends of the rods, a cross-bar connected to the parallel rods substantially midway between the ends of the rods and adapted for attaching a line thereinvention, what is including ,ai pair of parallel to, and an elongated solid body pivotally mounted on the trunnions for endwise swinging movement of the body.

3. A shing sinker comprising a line connector including a pair of parallel bars, a rearwardly curved skid at the front end of each bar, a connecting bar uniting the outer end portion of the skids with each other, and an elongated solid body pivoted to the rear ends of the bars for endwise swinging movement of the body.

4. A fishing sinker comprising a resilient Wire frame including a pair of parallel bars united with each other at one end, an elongated solid body pivoted at its sides to the free ends of the bars for rotary movement of the body, line attaching means connected to the bars forwardly of the body and holding the bars engaged with the body, and a line guide adjacent the vunited ends of the bars forwardly of said line-attaching means.

5. A shing `sinker comprising a wire ,frame bars having resilient parallelloops formed at the front'ends thereof `and a third bar connecting the outer end portions of the loops Vto each other, opposed trunnions at the rear ends of the parallel bars, an ovate body pivoted at its sides to the trunnions for rotary movement of the body, a cross bar adinstable longitudinally on the parallelbars and holding the latter rigid and adapted for attachbeing undulate'd to form v`notches therein,

ing a line thereto, and a line guide supported in said notches to permit adjustment of the cross *bar forwardly or rearwardly on said parallel bars to vary the pull on'the line necessary to cause releaseoi the trunnions from said openings when the body becomes fouled.

VIRGIL L. BOWMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of -record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 'Name' Date 60,786 vRhodes et al. Jan. 1, 1867 377,294 Dietz Jan. v.31, i888 2,109,693 Gaines .et ai. :'Mar. 1, `1938 Finn Nov. S8, 1949 

